That cloud on the horizon – the huge, Nothing-esque presence that started to form the day Megan Rapinoe left for Lyon – has finally been blown over Starfire Sports, imposing itself on Reign FC’s season just as it seemed things couldn’t get worse.

The team’s off to a 0-6-1 start, worse in the new NWSL. They’ve lost their last three games by a combined 9-2. Amy Rodríguez is out, pregnant. Hope Solo’s four weeks away from returning to the team. And Rapinoe, the person the team’s counting on to provide some scoring punch, won’t be back from france until late June.

Now comes news that Rapinoe’s upcoming half-season stay may be her only time with Reign FC. While speaking with Sports Illustrated, the U.S. international confessed talks are ongoing about a return to Lyon. According to Grant Wahl, “she’s also leaning toward coming back to Lyon for 2013-14.”

From the piece:

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot, and I’m definitely thinking about coming back and playing another season here,” she said, noting that the pay is better in Europe, especially with the exchange rate. “There’s interest from both sides, from me and Lyon. It’s worked out well mutually.”

The pay difference is huge. According to league director Cheryl Bailey, the high-paid player in the NWSL is making $30,000 for their five-plus months service. Players of Rapinoe’s stature can make six-times that, albeit over a long season.

It’s an opportunity more players should explore. If it weren’t for the allegiance most stars feel toward the league — the sense of responsibility toward creating something at home — players beyond Rapinoe and Paris Saint-Germain’s Tobin Heath (allocated to Portland) would be playing in Europe.

All this doesn’t necessarily mean Rapinoe will be completely done with Seattle after this NWSL season (as, in fairness, I hint above). Not only is her deal with Lyon not done, but even if it was, she could still conceivably return to Seattle next summer, even though you’d think Lyon would like to avoid that type of arrangement.

And who knows if Rapinoe would even want to return. It’s no secret that she wanted to be allocated to Portland, where she lives and went to school. She was effusive about the possibility of playing in her hometown before allocation game. Dispersed to Seattle, the charm of the NWSL may have worn off. If she’s not playing at home, might as well play in Lyon? Or perhaps the money and team are just too good to turn down.

Regardless, Seattle’s bad luck continues. Rodriguez is out for the year. Solo’s still recovering. Rapinoe’s coming back, but by the sound of it, it may not be for long. The club’s first months have turned into a storm Reign FC must ride out.

Rapinoe and Lyon play for a third-straight UEFA Champoins League title on Thursday, with the French champions taking on German titlists VfL Wolfsburg at Stamford Bridge.

Ahead of what’s expected to be a busy summer for Tottenham, the club’s fans got some exciting news.

Tottenham announced that it had signed manager Mauricio Pochettino to a new five-year contract. Also joining Pochettino with new contracts are assistants Jesús Pérez, Miguel D’Agostino and Toni Jimenez.

“I am delighted that we have agreed a new, extended contract with Mauricio,” Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy said in a statement. “We have been on an extraordinary journey and the times ahead look even more exciting as the Club enters the next phase in its history. Mauricio has fostered an incredible spirit in the team and has embraced a style of play our fans have loved watching. I know they will welcome this commitment by Mauricio.”

Since joining in 2014, Pochettino has led Tottenham to a fifth-place finish in his first season followed by three-straight finishes in the top three of the Premier League. While the club still has the title and UEFA Champions League hump to overcome, Pochettino has done great work to help the club shed it’s also ran status as a club with history and power, but below the top four.

🗣️ Mauricio: "We are already making plans to ensure we continue to build on the great work that everyone has contributed to over the past four years."#COYSpic.twitter.com/851m8C1XE4

Keeping Pochettino is also huge for keeping the squad together, including the likes of Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Eric Dier, while also adding to a starting lineup that battled with the best in the Premier League all season.

Jose Mourinho is nearing a boost to his attacking midfield, with Brazilian international Fred reportedly on the verge of joining Manchester United.

The 25-year-old midfielder has starred for Shakhtar Donetsk the past five seasons, cementing his place as a starter for the Ukrainian side and impressing in UEFA Champions League matches. Fred follows the likes of Manchester City’s Fernandinho and Chelsea’s Willian as using Shakhtar as a mid-way point between Brazil and the Premier League.

According to multiple reports in England, Manchester United is in advanced negotiations to sign Fred for a reported transfer fee of nearly $59 million. The singularly-named Fred would be the third-famous Fred to play for Man United, following Freddie Goodwin, who played for the Red Devils from 1954-60 and Fred Erentz, who played from 1892-1902.

Although he is not physically big, Fred could be an Eden Hazard-type player, a tricky midfielder who puts defenders on their heels as he skates past them with the ball.

Here are more transfer rumors and notes from around the Premier League:

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) FIFA Council member and Ghana Football Association head Kwesi Nyantakyi has been arrested on his return to his home country following a complaint made against him by the Ghanaian president.

Police spokesman David Eklu confirmed to The Associated Press on Thursday that Nyantakyi, also a vice president of the Confederation of African Football, is in custody and being interrogated.

Ghana President Nana Akufo-Addo asked police to investigate Nyantakyi after the soccer boss allegedly was caught in an undercover documentary promising businessmen access to the president and other senior government officials in return for money.

Nyantakyi was out of the country at the time President Akufo-Addo made the complaint.

Ghana media reported that Nyantakyi, a member of the powerful FIFA Council since 2016 and an influential figure in African football, was picked up by plain-clothes police at the airport in Accra and taken straight to police headquarters.

One of England’s most famous clubs is receiving investment and strategic business connections from one of the NFL’s most famous brands.

Leeds United and the San Francisco 49ers announced Thursday that 49ers Enterprises, an investment arm of the 49ers ownership, has purchased a minority stake in the Championship club. Multiple reports state that the 49ers now own 10-15 percent of the club, but current Leeds chairman Andrea Radrizzani remains the majority owner.

As part of the deal, 49ers President Paraag Marathe gets a seat on the Leeds United board of directors. Per Leeds, the money invested will stay with the club and be used for the first team, as Leeds looks again to make its way back to the Premier League in next season’s campaign.

Leeds Utd majority owner Andrea Radrizzani has sold a minority stake (approx 10-15%) in the club to 49ers Enterprises, an investment entity attached to the San Francisco 49ers NFL franchise. 49ers President Paraag Marathe will get a seat on the Leeds Utd board of directors.

An American ownership group investing in England is nothing new, but to identify and purchase a stake in a club with history and a decent chance at making it to the Premier League is impressive. In addition, the York Family, who owns the 49ers, has a net worth in the billions, which could help fund Leeds’ push back into the Premier League.

For the 49ers, this is also a savvy business decision. By investing low in a club in the Championship, they hope that they can experience the financial windfall of playing in the Premier League. This season, clubs made a combined $3.2 billion (with a capital B) thanks to revenue sharing, international and domestic TV rights, and other sponsorship deals.

With even the relegated sides taking home nine figures in revenues from the league, who wouldn’t want to invest and take a cut of that?

Now, only time will tell how long it is before the 49ers influence helps – or hinders, based on the 49ers current state of affairs in the U.S. – Leeds reach the pinnacle of English football.